Keyboard for pianos.



G. FISCHER. KEYBOARD FOR PIANOS. rrmouron FILED JULY 7, 1910.

1,038,549. Patented Sept. 17,1912.

(1 a a b Hgi Fig.2.

Witnesses; Inventor:

'EZSO'HEE, 833 'IBARMEN, GERMANY.

ZIZEY'EGARD FGR PIANOS.

specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

Application filed no? t, 1910. Elerial H0. 570,819.

particularly when the middle fingers have To all whom it may concern Te it known that l, CARL Fisorrnn, a subect of the King or" Prussia, German Einperor residing at Barinen Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Keyboards for Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

'lh's invention relates to the keyboard for key instruments such as pianos, organs, harinclined upward toward the black keys. re have already become known he hoards with lower or white keys mounting toward the black keys in a straight unhroken line, but such keyboards suiier from various inconveniences which all result from the fact that the inclined surface of white key is straight. Owing to the straight line of the lower key the distance letween the upper key and the head of the lower key is much greater than at present so that the fingers strike the keyheads too late where-from results a certain disagree able feeling oi? insecurity for the pianoplayer. This disadvantage further renders it inore difiicult to play accords comprising notes of half value, all lingers being close together. The keyhead to be struck by the lids finger being too down the touch liecoines ver diilicult the little finger has to he loent too much, so that the span of the hand is further reduced. A in ther 1ncoiivenience consists in the fact that the vertical distance het veen the upper and the lower key is different owing to the inclination of the white key heads in the front part the key board, whereby the insecurity of the playing is still further increased as the striking 01" the keys in this part of the keyboard is effected only in vertical direction.

the striking of tie h s in. front part oi the keyboard is in vertical direction tie keyhoad own construction and with straight ke er the e advantage that the in: p orward the key as the key e inclined, this dis- "van'tage heing still increased. by the denression of the keys struck.

llQl'BifOlQ becomes quite iffer he player intended it to he.

of white lower o ltli the keyising; in

e no secure position on ys owing; to e head. kezs, and

has and so on in which the white keys to strike the rear parts of the keys, so that 11111011 of the force and of the security of the touch gets lost. I

According to this invention the herei-nbefore mentioned inconveniences connected with the keyboards of known construction are avoided.

In the accompanying drawings the ini- )roved keyboard is shown.

Figure 1 is a lateral elevation of a lower key; Fig. 2 is a lateral elevation of an upper key; Fig. 3 shows the keyboard in side view; Fig. 4 is a top view of the keyboard. Fig. 5 is a small front edge view which shows the projections of the keys.

The surfaces of the white lower keys (1 (Figs. 1 and form each an obtuse angle. The heads I) of the white keys may be either horizontal or inclined in. a direction opposite to that in which the rear parts d of the keys are inclined. All the keys, the upper keys a as well as the lower keys 6 have each a molded projection c at the upper end, said projections being either made in one piece with the keys or separate from the same. the blocksheing glued upon the keys. (Ewing to the angular shape of the lower key the distance between the front edge of the upper key and the head of the lower key is reduced, so that the fingers have not to he moved any farther than with the usual horizontal keyboard when the keys of the front part of the keyboard have to be depressed and the playing of accords is not in the least more difficult with this keyboard then it is with the ordinary horizontal keyboard althou h-the lower keys are inclined, as the diilerences in height are compensated. The difference of height between the upper key and the head' of the lower key is at all points the same so that the player has not to reckon with various distances. The angular shape of the lower keys facilitates the hold which the thumb the little linger find on the keyheads; the hand is better supported and the middle can strike the rear parts of the keys with much greater force. To the touch of the player the keyboard appears to be much flatter than at present and it can he more easily gripped with smaller movements of the h ids. The molded projections at the rear ends of all the keys serve for limiting jections.

the keyboard. They may consist of blocks glued on the keys or they may be made in onepiece with the keys. These projections serve for various purposes. First they facilitate the execution of chromatic glissandi that is to say all keys can be struck successively by simply depressing all the pro- Secondly they serve to increase the security of the player as he can play even the rearmost parts of the keys with free movements of the hands and with outstretched fingers without an danger of pushing against the lid 0 the piano. Thirdly they fill in the spaces which are formed between adjacent keys when the one or the other of the keys is being depressed, so that the keyboard ofi'ers always the same aspect to the player, whereby the security ofthe player is still further increased.

CARL FISCHER, [L. 8.]

Witnesses l/VALTER VONNEGUT, ALFRED -HENKEL. 

